


hell

by RoyalDarlingPrincess



Category: Tales of woes mentration
Genre: F/M, Threesome - F/F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2018-10-14 10:40:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10534791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoyalDarlingPrincess/pseuds/RoyalDarlingPrincess
Summary: df





	1. Chapter 1

She is in the midst of peaceful slumber, nestled securely under sheets that contain her in an essence of warm comfort within her canopy bed. Dreams of wild free horses fill her head, their bodies galloping across grassy fields, their beautiful rainbow manes glittering in the sunlight. The first cry doesn't break her from sleep neither does the second or third. Until the rapid thud of footsteps echo close by… she also does not stir when the doors are flung open and neither does she awake when the yells and shouts resonate in the house, thick with urgency. The maid has to shake her body with a violent shove.  
“Wake up, Miss Attaway.”

  
The girl’s eyes flicker open and focuses on the maid’s bright eyes set against a face that is tight with worry and alarm. “Nadia, what happened?” She mummers, wiping sleep from her eyes. “It's your father, my lady!” And even in the silver light pouring through the window and the dim flicker on the candle, she could make out the frightened tremble to her lips. “Your father..” she continues softly, “My lady, he has been gravely injured.”

Pearl immediately pushes away the covers and slips out of bed. Her cold clammy fingers find the hand of Nadia, and her eyes stare into her worried eyes. “Nadia, what has happened?” Cold fear bubbling to sweat on her skin.

“Your father's ship was attacked by some terrible creature. Most of the sailors died, but your father – he managed to escape but was badly hurt.” A quake in her voice. “Where is he? where is he? Pearl cries, with a rising hysterical edge as a sudden cold wave washes over her body.

“He is in the living room..” That answer prompts her to run as fast as she could, her bare feet making a loud slapping sound as she moves through the hallway. Her heart hammering in her throat.

‘Please be alive..please be alive.’

She burst through the doors; her eyes immediately caught the figure of her dad placed across the seat. She runs to him, and nearly steps on a fallen sailor on her way to him, nearly toppling over the fallen crew member. Apologies fall her lips, and she spares a sad glance at the poor bodies littering their spacious living room. Then, she gingerly stepped over them to seek out her parent.

His skin is sallow and rubbery, stretches thinly across his skull as sweat drips from his clammy forehead. His breathing is labored. Eyes quickly take in his body and a gasp of horror is emitted from her pink lips, as her fix on the bandaged stump cut off at his right knee.

“My poor father,” She sighs piteously, running her fingers through his filthy clump of matted hair, the gesture leaving residue on her pale fingers. “What has happened?” She looks to the captain, who watches her with mournfully sad eyes, hooded with despair from his seat in the corner. “We were attacked.. Miss Attaway,” He croaks, and with a groan he straightens up in the seat.

“By some creature from the deep..” There is an ominous edge to his story, wringing his hands together in fear. Anxiety etches deep lines on his weathered face, while her brow furrows in confusion.  
“What kind of creature?” Pursing her lips, and keeping her gaze focused on him. She didn’t want to miss one detail of the horrific story of a killer whale or murderous shark if it was indeed true. “What could have hurt my father so badly?”

Captain Jack swallows hard, his patchy, discolored lips tremble slightly, and shadows move across his face. His white eyelashes twitch nervously. “Assassins Miss.. they call themselves assassins of the seas, a force to challenge the Templars.” He repeats.

Her green eyes sharpen, boring into the captains weak ones that are visibly strained with guilt and exhaustion. On noting the disbelief coloring her gaze, he explains weakly, his voice cracking in some areas, “A sudden fog came upon us-,” his tone rising just a little bit, “- and these creatures with a hundred hands just appeared from the water. They started killing our crew and we just managed to fight them off.” He coughs and hacks snort from his nose before continuing in a raspy tone, “I could hear one of them tell the other that they were to go after Templars- a woman I think or …it could be a siren or a mermaid - I don't know what happened..It was so fast.”

  
He wheezes a dry, painful-sounding cough, and Pearl tightens her fingers until they bunch her nightdress. She can hear her heart hammering against her chest, and her breath slowing to a frightened whisper.

“They were so vicious,” Fingers seek out his hand to feel the fading comfortable warmth, and the weak pulse of his wrist beneath his cold skin.

“These creatures,” she said slowly, struggling to process the information in her mind that felt thick and suspended in inanimation, like she was underwater, slowly drowning.  “They chopped off his leg,”

 “No, Miss. He ripped it off.”  His eyes were swallowed by a dark shadowy shock , and she has to nudge him a little. He jerks awake, color and life returning to his features. Droplets of water roll off his body, and darken the carpet. His mouth began moving without any prompting.

“He fought them – we fought as hard as we could..Your father gave him a good whacking –gave it everything – we would have been dead. All of us would have died if not for the dog.”

Another hacking cough shakes his body, and spittle drips from his mouth. “The dog slowed the creatures down; they didn’t want to hurt the animal. Liam attacked them, but he was unable to battle the creature .”

He stops for a breather, and Pearl swallows the acidic taint coating her tongue.

“The creature ripped off his leg with his bare hands. We did everything for him – bandaged the wound, and bought the survivors back.” He relapses into a cold silence, and his eyes roll into his head, as his lids slip shut. Pearl's gaze rests on her sick father, feeling pity stir within her sinking depths. Her body jerks at the sudden noise breaking the morose silence. One sailor positioned near the window is stricken with a sudden coughing fit. Immediately, the servants are by his side and they tend to him, trying to ease his suffering.

The noise wakes Captain Jack, and he shifts his weight, but the movement is difficult and his face contorts with pain.  Pearl has to drag her body to stand on unsteady legs, and she walks to lean over the poor suffering man.

“Don’t worry, it’s not your fault,” She whispers softly, chocking back tears and hoping she can reach him in drug induced stupor. Just looking at her father writhing in agony is just too much to bear, and the suffering that surrounds her breaks her heart. They were loyal men, they didn’t deserve this. Bile rises from the back of her throat, the stench of putrefying sickness, iron blood and rotting flesh assails her nose.

“Did you call the physician?” she turns to the head servant. Standing up to brush a few strands of hair from his face, "Peter." Placing her hand on his forehead, her skin absorbs the chill of his skin and the sweat of his brow.

 "Yes," the head butler Pierre whispers softly, afraid that any louder would disturb the fitful sleep of the recovering sailors.

"Uhuuuhhh..." A sailor releases a pained groan, twitching in his fitful sleep. Beside him a man breathes heavily, coughing white spittle that darkens the heavy blanket he is wrapped in. "Thank you, Pierre," Her voice curling with the edge of tears, but there is a little enforced iron in her tone. " If you would like..Miss.  I can request Lucille to fetch some water or coffee." She clasps her hands in front of her and gathers her strength. "Yes, Please." She sighs, "I want to wait till my father wakes up. I will take some hot chocolate." Her father stirs in his sleep, and the girl's heart cracks into a million pieces. The ground shifts, unsteady, she nearly collapses into despair. Her night was filled with heart-wrenching sobs, worrying and fretting over the fate of her only family.

 

 


	2. A plan of battle

The next morning, the events of the night weight on her mind as she sits at her father’s, back rigid and hands folded in front of her. Her desk, books and papers are neatly arranged to make it easier to conduct the business proceedings as she had momentarily stepped in to lead her father’s business.

Her eyes catch the sparkle of sunlight on the ocean waves through the open window. ‘Everything seems so peaceful..’

Reluctantly, she tears her eyes from the peaceful sight, to confront a more darker, and dangerous one. Rupert Clayton was speaking in a clipped tone that carried a patronizing edge, and his dark eyes pierce hers with an accusatory light. “Miss Attaway, this matter of the loan has to be resolved, as you see... the bank of England is expecting payment, we do not like to be kept waiting.”

“I understand, Mr. Griffiths,” She says politely, though internally she is seething. The man had the audacity to make such demands barely a few days after news of her father’s ill nature was made public, the details of which had been kept under the strictest secrecy, for fears that sea monsters

“We will seize this house and the land, and any interest you have accumulated.."

"Women are not allowed to own property but I shall inherit my father's debt.." A fiery twist to her lips, eyes narrow ever so slightly.

He adjusts his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and raises an eyebrow, " Miss Attaway, I represent the interests of the Bank and we intend for the full debt to be repaid despite..your circumstances. The Bastard didn't have the decency to look apologetic, she observes with a sudden spark of anger. Mouth condensing into an angry stern line.

"It is unfortunate that as your father is indisposed..the financial burden now falls on you." His hands fold across his lap and he eyes her with a contemplative stare. “There are things a young woman like you can do to help with your father’s finances situation. She reigns in the fury that washes over her at his impudence, seeing something ugly and wicked moving beneath his masquerade of a gentleman. “And what do you suggest,” asks with icy coolness that could have chilled a polar bear. He clears his throat and says in a tone that could only be construed as conniving and crafty. “If you were to marry soon, your husband could pay off the bank. Moreover, a fine gentleman will provide you and your situation the guidance it so desperately needs.”

She grits her teeth against vocalizing the vicious thoughts in her head when she sees the corner of his mouth shift upwards to a cruel smirk.

“I am sure you could do well for yourself. You are quite pleasing to the eye -“.

“Oh, how I'm glad to have your honest opinion. I sometimes stay awake at night wondering if any man can see my worth in my features, thankfully you have assuaged my fears and I will have a peaceful night sleep..” She hadn’t meant to be disrespectful, understanding that the requirement for niceties to facilitate a sooth business relationship, but his abrasive disregard to her plight irked her to no end. Bitter cold sarcasm is her weapon of choice, and she wielded it even in the most unfortunate circumstances.

He jerks at the sudden onslaught, eyes narrow and a crimson tint suffuses his neck, and his sudden angry response, it sinks heavily into her bones that she should have bit down on any further words.

“I was merely voicing my displeasure as I am quite self-conscious,” Saturating her voice in a placating sweetness that has worked so far in the company of men, “Most men find my wrinkles quite..unusual. The consequence of the sun. That is all.”

The redness spreads to the rest of this rest of his face and he stares at her in simmering rage at her impudence. His fingers clench into a tight ball in as his piercing glower attempts to burrow a hole into her head.

Clearly unsure of how to respond to a frank nature of a Lady, he swallows his anger instead rather than make a scene. “My advice..” His voice is steely calm, annoyance twitching on his chin, “Is for you to be more forthcoming with the details - and help us find a way to smoothly acquire your estate to be handed over to more capable hands.”

Pearl swallows, her throat constricting at the thought of what this bastard had for her family’s business. She chooses to steady her shoulders and fix him with a level glare, “According to the details of our agreement, the loan isn't due until the end of three months and even then we have a grace period. “

Inwardly pleased with the way his face puckered like a lemon. Clearly he assumed she would be a pushover, Pearl was more than happy to prove him wrong. “That is true,” He says slowly, ‘But from what I have gathered from your circumstances, you have no means to pay the loan or the interest due in the coming month.” “And you just thought you could come early to save yourself a later trouble..” She guesses, arching a brow. Anger thrums through her blood, fingers curl into fists but her face remains placid. ‘A lady doesn’t reveal her true feelings.’

He nods in the affirmative, evidently positive that the end was neigh and he had to remove the fleshiest meat from the carcass before the hounds came upon it. “There is no need to be delay the inevitable. News of the accident has spread far, and Attaway Pearl Hunting Enterprise, is finished. You have no means of recovering what you have lost in the accident. I happen to meet with your financial advisor for a show now and again – he was very forthcoming with the details about your business dealings. All positive of course, but one can read between the lines.” His expectant look was met with frosty quiet, her fury carefully hidden under a soft mask of a lady. “It appears you are more aware of our financial dealings than I am, I would offer you the post of Financial Advisor, but I doubt you have any vested interested in preserving a stalwart company and own any loyalty to the people that built it.”

The ice in her tone was far more frigid than the wind that blew across the artic. “And a lack of loyalty has made it so that you have and never will build anything in your lifetime.” She states matter a factly.

His face darkens with the blackness of a storm as he attempts to sputter some indignant response to her words. “I do talk with my financial adviser Mr. Williams as well, and his thoughts on you and your conduct are woefully unpleasant. “ He chokes out an angry and unhappy “See, Miss”. But she simply raises her hand for his attention. “You will get the money when it is due according to the contract, and if you have any further inquiries you may direct them to your so-called friend.”

Finished with a flourish, feeling a wave of triumphant, feeling she had just jostled with a violent beast. His face changed from a bright red to a deepening purple, and his lips continued crimping like a fish. “As you wish..” he said with forced cordiality, “Miss Attaway, while I understand it is a difficult moment for you, I will ask we remain civil even in the face of difficult circumstances.” A thin vein pulsates at the corner of his forehead. Pearl clears her throat, a very delicate gesture, head dips in apology. “I am sorry for any offense I might have caused.” Voice softens under humility, and rings with honesty. Mr. Griffiths was a man she dared not offend. Maybe until she attained a status that could negate any negative consequences of her sharp tongue, until then she needed every timber of support for her father’s business.

His shoulders visibly relaxed and he puffed out the air he held in his lungs in a small bellow. “It’s all fine. I understand you women are a sensitive bunch,” He laughs it off, a condescending ring that sends discomfort to her ears. ‘And men are sensitive cads!’ came the thought.

“We will resume the matter later and perhaps by that time.. your father will be well.” He meant to sound encouraging and hopeful, but they just echo with a hollowness that makes her chest tighten uncomfortably. “Good day, Ms. Attaway.”

She composes herself by swallowing a deep breath, sealing away her tumult of emotions that had her stomach in knots. Then, she summons her father’s secretary with the ringing a small bell.

“Mr. Edward, Please ask Mr. Francis to see me for a meeting .”

Captain Francis was a fit 42 year old, who had led her father’s ships as the captain for many years. He left behind a wife and 5 kids for the latest venture, and now he appeared before her with a weathered face and eyes hollowed out with horror. He nods his head weakly, and sits down. Pearl takes a seat, and speaks with a calming voice, sensing his discomfort and his anxiety that burdened him. Evident in his wide, glassy stare that appeared to be frightened of an invisible being.

“Please talk to me, what happened..while you were out sea?” Her question is calm and cajoling, not at all like the bitter way she spoke to the banker.

Francis clears his throat and said in a voice that falters and stutters over his story and the words, seemingly difficult to form over salted, cracked lips.

“We were sailing out to west, following a map to a newly discovered island, on your father’s order. He believed the conditions made er suitable for e pearl diving expedition.”

His voice cracks at the thought, “The sea was calm, my lady. Then- Then out of nowhere..a thick fog just covered everything. We-e-we couldn’t see anything. We were forced to slow down our ship. Addington said he saw a small dinghy ahead of us-“ He breaks off to swallow a lump in his throat.

“Then –one man was taken..just snatched from the main deck. There was tis Aw-rible scream ..such a av-rible sound..like a man having his tongue torn from his mouth. We heard the crunch noises.. like bones breaking and flesh left ripped from skin. The crew was ordered to attack the source of the noise and their voices..they joined in the screaming. “

Pearl leans forward, enraptured by his story, her nerves on edge and her chest compressed to expel the breath in her lungs.

“Then-the- Something crashed into the ship,” he pauses to bring his hands together and squeezes strongly till his knuckles are white. Sweat gathering at his brow despite the pleasant day.

“We couldn't see what it was..but we heard it. Water poured onto the deck.” He stops to take a few shaky breath, struggling to steel his nerves. Pearl felt pity stir inside her, the poor man was a loyal captain and imperative to the Attaway business. To see him in this state..was disconcerting. She didn’t have a clue where this story was going, but judging from the quaver in his voice, and the haunted glint in his eyes, the thing was..dangerous, far more than she could fathom.

“No sooner had some men gone to deal with the problem..”He continues , “ there –ere was this awful screaming. And their heads came flying out of the fog.”

Pearl felt her nails dig into her flesh, as icy fear descended her spine. “Their heads were torn off, it was..was terrible. Worst sight I ever saw…” His hands tremble, his knuckles were white and while he controlled his speech, his tongue clearly scrapped against his chattering teeth.

 


End file.
